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Detroit Unveils EV-Charging Roadway in National First

A section of road in the Motor City is the first in the nation capable of wirelessly charging electric vehicles while in motion. The quarter-mile section of road is near the city’s downtown area.

A section of roadway painted to indicate EV charging capabilities.
Shutterstock
(TNS) — A section of road in Detroit is the first in the nation capable of wirelessly charging electric vehicles as they drive over the pavement.

CBS Detroit reports the quarter-mile section of road is on 14th Street near the city’s downtown between Marantette and Dalzelle streets.

“A quarter-mile of road. It may seem small now, but it’s a huge step in how to figure out how do we bring this to scale,” Michigan Central CEO Joshua Sirefman tells CBS Detroit.

Channel 4 in Detroit reports inductive-charging coils are underneath the pavement. An electric vehicle equipped with a receiver will have its batteries charged as it drives over the road. An EV must have a receiver in order to receiver a charge.

It cost $1.9 million to install the coils on the section of street, CBS Detroit reports. The city is planning to add it to other streets, reports say. The company Electreon oversaw the project, Fox 2 reports.

Wireless-charging roads installed by Electreon already are in use in Detroit and the Middle East, according to Fox 2.

“It is an amazing step forward,” Sirefman tells Channel 4. “So, if you think about it, well, it is just a quarter mile of road, what we will learn is what’s going to allow for expansion of that and think about the potential of being able to charge through the roads.”

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